Emotional Intelligence in Adolescents

What is Emotional Intelligence?

According to Mental Health America, emotional intelligence (EI) can specifically be described as the “ability to manage both your own emotions and understand the emotions of people around you”. 

Research has shown that There are five key elements to EI: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. Having high EI might mean that people can identify how they are feeling, what their feelings mean, and how those emotions impact their behaviour, and other people. A common misconception is that a high EI means the ability to manage other people’s emotions. However, the truth is no one can control how someone else feels or behaves; a person with high EI may identify the emotions behind the person’s behaviour, and through which understand how best to interact with them. 

Measuring Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is usually measured using three different ways: Self-reporting, other-reporting, and ability testing. 

Self-reporting occurs when researchers ask candidates to evaluate their own emotional intelligence, similar to a personality test. While this method is a good way to understand a participant’s perception of themselves, self-reports are generally not as accurate as they cannot be tested, and are subject to unconscious biases. Therefore, self-report testing is a solid way to measure innate traits like those found in personality, and would make for a solid measure of EI, but only in those who have high emotional intelligence to begin with.

Other-reporting includes researchers rating the EI of a participant. This method is sometimes called observer rating. It allows one to gather valuable information on how participants perceive someone, but is also not the most reliable option. This is because reliable results from other-reporting depend on the emotional intelligence of the researchers. This methodology also makes it difficult to quantify a measure of emotional intelligence of a person. 

Compared to the other two methodologies, ability testing is considered the most reliable because emotional intelligence is skill-based. A test or psychological experiment would be the most straightforward way to measure someone’s emotional intelligence because a scientific investigation would allow researchers to control confounding variables and negate biases. The most accurate ability-testing would test an individual on multiple qualities of emotional intelligence, such as the ability to recognize, empathize, and utilize emotion.

The role of Emotional Intelligence in Adolescent Development

Emotional intelligence (EI) is an important aspect of adolescent development. Many past studies of the brain during the development of teenagers show that emotional intelligence serves as the foundation for many development outcomes in adolescents. 

For example, it plays a vital role in fostering resilience, enabling teens to cope with stress and navigate social interactions, particularly complex ones. High EI levels are linked to improved mental health, lower levels of anxiety and depression, and perhaps even better academic performance. 

In terms of social interactions, correlational studies have shown that adolescents with strong emotional intelligence have healthier relationships. Theoretically, this is because they are better equipped to communicate with others effectively, empathise, and resolve conflicts. This means their social interactions are enhanced, and even contribute to a positive self-concept and reduced delinquent behaviour. 

Enhancing Emotional Intelligence

Given the importance of emotional intelligence on a child’s mental development and health, many studies have been conducted to investigate the methods with which one can improve their own or someone else’s emotional intelligence. 

Parents and educators can play a significant role in developing emotional intelligence among adolescents through various strategies.

Firstly, self-awareness and the encouragement of it helps children recognise their emotions and understand how their feelings impact their behaviour. 

Also, the promotion of empathy through the showing of multiple perspectives throughout childhood fosters stronger interpersonal connections. 

Finally, because children are so swayed by the behaviour of people around them during development, it is important for parents and educators to model healthy emotional expression. Their demonstration of the appropriate ways to express emotions not only emphasises the importance of communication, and allows adolescents to improve emotional intelligence by seeing examples of good awareness and empathy.

Bibliography

Criteriacorp.com. (2025). How and Why to Measure Emotional Intelligence. [online] Available at: https://www.criteriacorp.com/blog/how-and-why-to-measure-emotional-intelligence#:~:text=There%20are%20three%20generally%20accepted,similar%20to%20a%20personality%20test. [Accessed 4 Feb. 2025].

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Mental Health America. (2025). What is emotional intelligence and how does it apply to the workplace? [online] Available at: https://mhanational.org/what-emotional-intelligence-and-how-does-it-apply-workplace [Accessed 4 Feb. 2025].